Wasure Wandarāzu
by Ehanu Rehu
Summary: They appeared as a new people in a land torn by darkness. Strange, they seemed, to the natives of Avalar; weapons meant for huge monstrosities, armor that could withstand a full charge from a Golem, these beings were incredibly peculiar. When their enemies begin to appear, however, the situation only complicates further. (Co-written with Callum, who has no profile here yet)
1. Genesis

Hardly a year had passed since the war's end and defeat of the Dark Master Malefor. That time was filled with rebuilding lives and mourning those that had been lost. Recovery was slow, but it was happening. Within the walls as well as beyond them, the recovery efforts sought out anything and everything that had been forgotten during the conflict; tribes were revived, cities rediscovered, and old bonds made new again. The ancient temple deep in the fungal forest had received the beginnings of restoration to its former glory, and the inhabitants of the surrounding area received aid once more.

It was during the start of this work that the Forgotten Wanderers had been discovered.

The Forgotten Wanderers were of a peculiar notoriety, given their vague past and the imposing circumstances around their discovery. With the reconstruction of the war-torn and shell-shocked region, the re-established connection with the clandestine race felt slightly muted. What could have been heralded as a major discovery instead pervaded the minds of the weary survivors as an idle trickle of passing rumor. A dinner table topic, and nothing more.

They were known as the Forgotten Wanderers for a reason, afterall.

To the discoverers of this race misplaced by time, however, the shock of it couldn't have been any higher. They were dragons, yet walked upright like the Cheetahs of the Valley and possessed ingenuity like the Moles of the City. But they were also not dragons, lacking wings, and their claws not so long as to afford them a natural weapon.

That wasn't to say they lacked weapons, however, and it was in this that their intellect shown through. When each Forgotten Wanderer had been found, they always came accompanied with various armors and weapons of incredibly exquisite design. Plating and mail bearing hardened hides, large blades that could cleave a dragon in half, and almost every one of the Forgotten that wasn't too sick to stand from their awakenings would immediately grab up their weapons with shocking strength and swung around their weapons with deceptive ease.

Thankfully, the soldiers that accompanied the recovery teams possessed reflexes to match. The Forgotten would be restrained every time with only the worst of the resulting injuries being a bruise. But the parties all would return with expressions of confusion and, at times, shock. Immediately, the Council of Elders swore them to silence and sent the Forgotten to a colony where they cared for them, but retained distance.

The only information available to the public was rumor and hearsay, unconfirmed as truth.

But to a pair of rather well-known dragons, they would always remember their encounter with it. These two dragons were heralded as the Saviors of the World, and the Dark Master's Bane. They were Terror of the Skies and Mauve Majesty.

To their friends, however, they were known as Cynder and Spyro, and they were the ones to discover the first of the Forgotten Wanderers. This first of the Forgotten, as fate would have it, would become the de facto leader of his people, but on that day he never knew what fortune planned for him.

 **Author Notes**

 **Ehanu (Mung): So in the end, I couldn't help myself and started writing a Monster Hunter/Spyro crossover. I know, I know what you're all thinking, "WHAT THE HECK, man, you just put 4 stories on hiatus!" But trust me on this, I got a good feeling about the direction of my writings lately. Especially with the sudden idea to include one of my good writer friends, Callum, in on this venture.**

 **Callum: And in turn, I couldn't help but get entwined with Mung's series. I look forward to exploring this world more and seeing where the Forgotten Wanderers and the main cast of dragons interact with one another to form a compelling adventure set in the aftermath of a disastrous war. I look forward to seeing what this story will bring.**


	2. Samskipti

_Clad in armor of clearly draconic, and slightly demonic, influences, the prominent figure radiated all degrees of power. Ridged armor forming pearlescent contours highlighted in iron and golden angularities conformed to its lithe physique. It possessed a set of wide-based horns atop his helm and clawed gauntlets webbed with great wings._

 _The being's name was Shukumei Tekina of Dundorma. Born to a family of highly-respected Hunters, he took up his family mantle of hunting the great beasts that regularly threatened his village's life-style. He had risen through to ranks to among the top Hunters in the G-rank, becoming one of the go-to elite. He soon acquired his armor and weapon of choice: White Fatalis Z Gunner Form (for mobility) and the dual blades Ultimus Apocalypse._

 _Shortly thereafter the forging of his would-be iconic equipment would be overshadowed by a single occurrence all across the lands. They would all later simply call it "The Phenomenon."_

 _There was no warning, no possible way they could've prepared for it, but suddenly one day at the exact same time, every single inhabitant of the lands suddenly disappeared. Shukumei had been shopping for hunting supplies when he had passed out, forcefully surrendered to the world of dreams._

 _Unknown to them all, this event spelled the end of the world as they knew it, and the start of a new one._

Pain seemed to have replaced every sensation of existence. Shukumei stumbled, barely conscious of the passing landscape. He had awoken to such thriving agony of body that he had been incoherent to the fact that this world was no longer the one he knew. He was unaware of the changes occurring to his body, enacted upon him by some unknown cause.

He came to a clearing and fell to his knees right there, unable to take it for any longer. Shukumei felt pressure build in his face, spine, and limbs as if several Rajang were trying to pull him to pieces. He gagged, loudly heaving but nothing exiting his maw. He wasn't aware at the time of his increasingly-draconian appearance as scales of burnt crimson replaced his human skin. His head reformed into an elongated, triangular shape reminiscent of Rathalos, though lacking the spines and spikes seen on those species. Even as claws formed underneath his gloves and boots, Shukumei's spine still stretched, growing into a long, powerful tail that swung ponderously.

As these changes occurred, the Hunter's armor transformed with him; his helm grew with his head, and plating covered his tail. Shukumei gasped, instinctively reaching up to his helm as he felt another gag come on just as the changes finished their hold upon him.

A crash to the earth and the glimpse of a large, black something alerted the barely-coherent Hunter to a creature's presence. Suddenly all pain was forgotten and he was on his feet with dual blades in claw. But even with all the adrenaline, there was only so much the weakened warrior could do. He nearly fell to the ground in exhaustion, but kept his eyes locked on the flailing monster.

To his despair, it was a Gore Magala that had crashed opposite him in this field. It was rolling around and roaring in pain, as if struck by the blast of a Gunlance. It flipped over onto its feet with a grunt of effort, suddenly stilling as it gazed with an eyeless stare at something away from him. Then as quick as it had stopped, the infant Elder Dragon roared out in pain and abruptly rammed its head into the ground, tearing up the earth in a desperation the fatigued Shukumei was grateful to have distracting the creature. But more and more, Shukumei was fighting off his own slippage into unconsciousness, black ringing his vision as he fought to stay awake.

Finally, and fortunately, the Gore Magala chuffed and shot into the air with a wobbling flight pattern. Shukumei gave its pained departure one single glance as he, too, slipped into the embrace of sleep, becoming dead to the world a moment later.

As Shukumei's senses deadened, the deathly image of the Gore Magala played over and over in his mind. Dread formed in his heart as he thought of the damage the infantile beast would wreck on this world. Someone had to find it before it could shed its skin to become the deadlier, golden Shagaru Magala. Someone had to…

He slumped over and lost all senses, his physical form unable to sustain energy for any longer after the transformation he had just experienced. Grunts came from his muzzle as he fell into a deep slumber that one would be hard-pressed to wake him from.

The newly-draconian Hunter slept in the prairie, oblivious to the world and to the group of five figures approaching his prone form across the plain. The three figures stopped and stared in shock before the males of the group immediately went into battle-ready positions, one drawing a bow the other hunkering down with teeth bared. But the female, of a four-legged stance like her mate, didn't immediately assume hostilities. Instead, she padded over to the armored figure, much to the shock of the other two, and leaned in close to the horns of Shukumei's helm. She closed her eyes, ignoring the whispered protests of either male, and reached out with her senses for the core of this creature. It was a technique she was just starting to get the hang of, having learned it from one of the Temple's devotees.

The figure opened her eyes and turned towards her compatriots with a peaceful, yet determined, expression on her muzzle.

"He is not of the Dark Master's forces," she said, "he is not even of this world. I can't sense anything corrupt in his Spirit energy…"

"But there's still something you could've missed, you're still just learning the ways of sensing Spirit," said the archer.

"Even still… if he proves to be of the Dark Master's influence, perhaps we can save or release him somehow," she said.

Her mate shook his head. "That's not a risk I'm willing to take. Don't you remember his servants and what they did?"

Her expression darkened and she glared. "Don't think to lecture me in his ways, I knew from the egg the extent of his vile ambition. I was forced into servitude for him after all. Besides…"

Here, she turned towards Shukumei with a saddened expression.

"…I think there has been enough death in our world."

Far up and away from this gathering, above the clouds flew the other figure foreign to this world, the Gore Magala. It had no real direction to its path or any goal in sight, it fled in a futile effort to escape the pain that was plaguing its mind. It shook its head, trying to remove the miasma of new thoughts invading its brain. What did these thoughts even mean?

The Gore Magala was confused. Before, it had merely been its goal to find something to eat or fend off enemies in other monsters or the lethal Hunters that constantly sought its species. But now the thoughts were accompanied by something else much more complex. Something… alien to the creature's formerly-simplistic mind.

It thought back to the Hunter that it just fled from, the one wearing the skin of a White Fatalis. That moment that they had looked at each other, the Magala knew fear like it always did when facing Hunters, and instinctively fled from it. But now, it found itself feeling a strange emotion concerning that Hunter, something that its species wasn't known for having.

The Gore Magala's flight stuttered as it realized sudden feelings of… _kinship_ and _worry_ for the Hunter. Was it okay? Would it be able to fend for itself?

It wasn't long after this that it slowed itself down with several reverse-beats of its wings and its jaw open in realization as several revelations entered its mind: the Gore Magala was _female._ Why did this come to its attention? The Magala species had no need to know gender, reproducing by forming an egg within them when they became a Shagaru Magala.

Then again, another shocking thought came to its mind: She had a name.

"Eh… Eh…. Eos….?" The Magala said, yelping as she reflexively put her paws to her muzzle. Did she just… speak?

The Gore Magala, Eos, shook her head more questions only appearing into her mind. What was going on here? What were all these new thoughts? What was she supposed to do? She only had wanted to survive before, but whatever happened to her was making matters too much for her to handle! She didn't care where or who she was! She never had before, so why were they suddenly so important to her now!?

She held her head in her paws, tearing at the black scales on her head as if she could tear these thoughts from her mind. Eos didn't want them! She didn't want to worry of these things! Why were these thoughts pervading her mind? _How_ were these thoughts pervading her mind!?

Fatigued and tired, she felt herself drop a little out of the sky. Her "sight" didn't go for far without her sensory clouds of spore-like scales, but she could smell various scents that reminded her of the Hunters: food, wood and plaster, metal. She could hear the hustle and bustle of numerous non-monsters carrying about their business.

It was a city, Eos realized. But she was too tired to care. She let herself drop, neatly falling out of the sky and to the ground a few yards below. The impact was still ground-shaking at her size and she winced at the pain of the crash, but she cared little at this point.

She just wanted to sleep and didn't have any care for what any Hunters would do to her. Already, she heard voices calling to each other as they got closer. The clanking of weapons and armor were very audible to her, and she had only a quiet dread at the imminent pain of those weapons cutting into her, or the biting of the ropes and chains they'd tie around her.

Eos drifted into unconsciousness before the parties reached her. But contrary to what she had believed, they weren't Hunters of the sense she believed them. Dragons, Moles, and Cheetahs, enough numbers to lift a dragon of Eos' size, came to surround her wearing expressions of worry. Immediately, one of the Cheetahs went to her side and lifted her paw, checking for sprains or broken bones. When he didn't find any urgent injuries, he turned to the rest of the party and they hoisted the Gore Magala onto a stretcher set aside for larger dragons. With practiced tandem, the party lifted Eos up and began marching back to the city.

Warfang was particularly lively today, but Eos' entrance to the dragon city wasn't made of particular note. The denizens just passed by the escort carrying the strange looking dragoness, but none gave a second look. Since the war, more and more dragons had been showing up with elemental abilities besides that of the fire, ice, thunder, and earth tendencies. Cynder had been the first but more were appearing with similar traits.

So another black dragon entering the city was just another day.

On the opposite side of Warfang, however, there was a smaller party gaining much more attention than that of Eos' group. These were the ones that had found the armored creature in the Swamp, and the members of said party were themselves of high notoriety. But as people approached the Dragon Saviors and the bow-carrying Hunter, they noticed the stretcher carried between them, and all recoiled seeing the armored being atop it.

Though Spyro and Cynder reassured those around that it was not, in fact, a servant of the Dark Master, rumors still spread like wildfire. "Malefor Reincarnate" was the title gaining the most popularity with the folk, with cheer spreading alongside it as people spoke of the creature as "captured" by the Saviors.

As the self-aware, and currently unconscious, Gore Magala was carried through the intricate streets of the city, Spyro and Cynder addressed their discovery of the Forgotten Wanderers. In tangent with the dormant dragon, the draconic pair ferried the heavily armored figure along the opposite sides of the city. Two new, potent arrivals, both passing under the subtleties of a daily hubbub, and faintly linked with traits of the unknown.

Cynder and Spyro carried the pearl and gold armored figure to their Temple, the central point of the city, with the intent of becoming additionally acquainted with the Forgotten Wanderer. Shukumei muttered and grated one webbed gauntlet against the stretcher upon which he rested, grumbling from any jostling or inherent movements accompanying the journey through the streets. When the drakes arrived at the temple, they altered their positions to ensure the sheathed figure remained docile, before ambling up the steps and into their chambers where a more formal and less intrusive analysis of the mysterious figure could transpire. Through the silent and wide halls, they progressed until they reached the central chambers, where beds and amenities were provided for such cases as these.

As they rounded the bend for those rooms, they noticed the other search party that had found someone. It was the very group that had discovered the Gore Magala, Eos, and were destined for another room across the hall. Cynder nodded at the lead Cheetah as Spyro opened their door, following the purple dragon in with her eyes turning back to the comatose figure.

His stature, how his shape was formed... it was far too like an anthropomorphic, albino version of Malefor, with crimson streaks highlighting various points of his body. Cynder couldn't refrain from the shudder that quivered through her body. But her earlier intuition that this being had nothing to do with the Dark Master still stuck with her.

Still, she was wondering what the figure looked like underneath...

"Cynder?"

She turned towards Spyro, the one who had spoken her name.

"I'm alright," she said, "and I still believe we have nothing to fear from this creature... Hunter, can you get his armor off?"

"Remove his armor? For what purpose?" the Cheetah said.

"If there's one thing I learned during the war, it's that the presence of armaments on one's body that instinctually prepares them for conflict," Cynder said. "Were we to remove his armor and weapons while he slept, it could go towards forming the beginnings of trust. We'll leave them nearby as a gesture of trust towards him, but this could go a long way to help him see we welcome him here with open wings."

"And if he turns out to be a servant of _him_?" Spyro said.

"Then we know what to do," Cynder said, sadly. "But even still, I hope that he can see reason and cease his struggle for blood."

Hunter nodded at Cynder's words, staying in his spot as he looked at the comatose figure a moment. After a few moments of this, the Cheetah finally sighed and shook his head as he walked over to the table, beginning to remove the coverings on the figure.

The helm was first to come off, and it was striking how draconic the figure looked. Triangular in shape, dark-crimson scales, and a horn on the tip of his snout, it was readily apparent it was a male. But the lack of any crest set him apart from the dragons of Avalar, as well as his anthropomorphic stance.

As Hunter removed the armor, he noticed its wear was light with only a few markings that seemed trivial. The ivory scales and crimson highlights lent a rustic, yet artistic, appearance, favoring practical use over aesthetic quality, but clearly not shying away from the latter. The breastplate, gauntlets, gloves, faulds, and greaves followed suit, bringing the draconic creature's scales to the light. Underneath all the armor, he wore a simple, two-piece undergarment that was colored ebony.

When the Cheetah got to the swords, he paused a moment as he gave the weapons a look over, with no lack of interest. The archer turned the two blades over, looking at the amazing craftsmanship on the blades. Impressive in design, yet simple in effect.

After a long moment of observing them, he placed them back on the table respectfully. Such tools of offense were works of art, though Hunter himself didn't work with such a personal touch in combat. The Cheetah took the armor to the mantle, carefully hanging the pieces one-by-one on the stand by the hearth. He then placed the dual blades of ivory and ebony on the top of it, arranging them into a cross before stepping back and leaving the room to the sleeping creature.

A few rooms down, Eos was being tended to by another Cheetah, this one by the name of Dusk, a healer that learned from the well-known Meadow himself. The Gore Magala had awoken an hour ago with a fear of speaking, it seemed. Dusk had tried several times to speak with Eos, only managing to get the Magala to speak her name, but little else. Eos only let her head hang at the ground, staring(?) at her forepaws in apparent shame.

Admittedly, Dusk didn't know if Eos could even stare, lacking eyes thereof.

Dusk finished his medical check, finding the shy dragonelle absent of any significant injuries, and walked over to the water spigot to fetch some water. Filling a pot with it, he hung it over the fire, straightaway walking to the cabinet where various herbs and poultices sat for such use. More minutes passed in silence between Eos and her healer while Dusk prepared the treatments to ease the Gore Magala's sores. But as the water came to a boil and he finished his preparations, Dusk finally broke the ice.

"What was the thing you did that you think makes you such a horrible monster?" Dusk said, jolting Eos from her stupor.

"Uh… I-I… I'm s-sorry…?" Eos stuttered as she sat timid like a whipped dragonette. Dusk immediately regretted how small the dragonelle made herself look with that motion, but decided pressing the issue.

"I can see it plain as day like someone wrote it all over your head with chalk," Dusk said, "you regret something and can't stop thinking about it."

Eos sighed, dipping her head again, but nodded shamefully. "We're not sentient beings," she replied, pausing for a moment, "or at least, we weren't. But being capable of guilt...or whatever this feeling is, it means something."

Angling her intimidating visage up to the studious feline, the Magala adopted an expression of crude apology. "For those I might've hurt," she stated, growling quietly at the memory of her actions, "It's a base and vile sentiment." Her softened gaze hardened after a moment, as Eos remembered the times of Before when she awakened every day, with an intense and utter hatred for everything living, knowing nothing but anger and hunger for death. For blood.

It was the Cheetah's turn to express confusion as his industrious patient gazed up at him. But as he watched his patient's eyeless face turn from loathing back to her timid self-fright, Dusk's emotions throbbed for the lady dragon of blackest scale. Carefully, he padded over to Eos and rubbed the Gore Magala's shoulder with a tenderness that made Eos turn her head up in surprise.

"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, feeling awkward at the dragoness' reaction to his motion and instead continued to apply salves to any bruises. "It's basic instinct for me, to show empathy," the Cheetah continued, "but… I feel I should promise you that no matter what you've done or who you hurt before, the past is behind us and the future ahead of us. No matter how dark it may seem… there is always a light at the end."

Nodding in return, Eos sighed and trailed her "sight" over the ceiling, letting her mind wander as she took in the surroundings. Numerous victims and injured patients resided among the temple's enclosed walls, though none emitted signs of immediate distress, the collective atmosphere of tiredness and muted pain began to seep into the dragoness' psyche. She found herself almost longing for the wide open planes from which she'd previously hailed.

There was a long moment of silence, save for the occasional cough or moan from the few anthros stricken with ailment of illness or injury. Eos felt a pang through her every time the sound came to her ears, a strong desire to get up immediately and go to the source of the noise to comfort the voice's owner. Only Dusk's firm, yet gentle paws restrained her from such an action, forcing the near-blind dragon to sigh internally with defeat.

"So… I hope this doesn't seem like I'm prying," Dusk said, "but how does one like you actually see? I noticed no ocular organs on you, yet you seem to be able to know where to turn your gaze. How are you able to gaze about like that?"

If Gore Magala had eyes, Eos would've blinked in surprise at the abrupt subject change.

"Oh, uh…. I've never really had to, uhm, explain it to anybody before… I never had the capability to do so or even comprehend it until recently… I'll… I'll do my best but I'm sorry if I can't explain clear," Eos said.

"Trust me, if anyone can explain it best, it'd be you, you are the one without the eyes, after all," Dusk said.

"Then I guess… I'll try," Eos said, shufling her Gazing around the room as if to gauge her surroundings in a new light, the Gore Magala realized her vision stemmed in sensory waves of undulating light.

"I witness visuals through aural and visual perceptions," she explained, "Sort of a combination of a bat's echoes and a lizard's thermal sensors. They couple to pinpoint the movement of a creature while also measuring its temporal readings."

She glanced up to gaze at Dusk, before extending one paw and brushing it along the feline's shoulder. "For example, I know your heart rate just sped up and your body temperature increased in both heat and kinetic functions." The dragoness paused for a moment to let Dusk catch up in regards to the explanation. He'd visibly flinched from the touch, but the Gore Magala didn't blame him. It was instinctive after all.

"And these perceptions are prone to affliction?" he inquired nervously.

Eos tilted her head to the other side. "I suppose," she replied, "If impeded by concussive forces or traumatic events, these senses can flicker out and we would have to rely solely on the remaining one."

Dusk nodded in appreciation, fixing his own slitted eyes on the dragoness. "So you have both thermal and auditory perceptions," he mused. "That would certainly compensate for the lack of ocular functions. But I imagine color and light isn't something you can pick up."

Eos shook her head. "No, everything is just… there. I don't really know what color _is,_ though I have heard light described before during the time of… during Before.

Resting closer to the dragoness, Dusk smiled sincerely and adjusted one of Eos' bandages. Their conversation didn't last much after that, with the Cheetah healer commenting every so often, asking her to lift a paw here, or move her tail over there. When the healer finished his treatment, he looked up to the maiden's face with a smile. "Thank you for telling me of your species, by the way. I enjoyed talking with you, short as it may have been."

Eos smiled faintly in return, her chitinous form relaxing as the cheetah seemed to accept her explanation. "It's the least I could do," she replied, "After all you aided in healing me." But even as she said the words, she felt a vile sickness of guilt build in her gut. Sure, Gore Magala such as she could sense things in that manner, but she withheld the information that those senses left her species with a severely-limited distance of "sight." Sure, while her audial and sensory abilities were better than those with eyes, they didn't compensate enough.

But Dusk didn't need to know the whole truth. He didn't need to know that Gore Magala could slough their scales at will and spread the spore-like sheddings in great clouds that swept across the ground like shadows and darkness made physical. She dared not reveal that these clouds of spore-like scales amplified a Gore Magala's ability to see to their apex, over a thousand times better than any creature with normal eyes.

And Eos would rather die than reveal that, in using her scales for this manner, she would unavoidably and implacably unleash the horror that was the Frenzy. Eos wanted to shrink into herself, shred off her scales, and rip them from her very being rather than allow their continued existence and the accompanying risk of infecting others with the mind-altering virus that originated with her species.

So to the Gore Magala, it was a fair trade-off: handicap her sight distance rather than risk the plague of her scales' virulent nature.

Wrapped up in her thoughts, Eos didn't even acknowledge Dusk's departure with his task complete. The Cheetah bid her a quiet "good night" and took his leave, plunging the room to darkness that Eos had no ability to discern. But with relative quiet, and the nearest patient being several places away, Eos' found her spiral of thought begin to exhaust her, the dragoness' head beginning to droop as more time passed.

Soon, however, the Gore Magala's head rested heavily on her fore-paws and she sighed deeply in fatigued resignation. Whereas she didn't have eyes to close, she still felt her grip on consciousness vanish as she slipped into the realm of dreams. Visions of her previous, hate-filled though simpler life flitted through her mind as, next door, the lone hunter stirred.

Crimson-scaled eyelids fluttered as the reptilian, bipedal being slowly awakened, memories foggy as it struggled to remember who, what, where it was, and _why_ everything ached so greatly.

Shukumei Tekina first remembered his name, then his life, and everything up to the end of Before. A throbbing headache came to him as he recalled everything, prompting him to rub his temples with his clawed hands. Then images flitted through his brain, memories of recent events, his encounter with the Gore Magala, the pain of his transformation…

Wait… transformation…?

His clawed digits stopped, his eyes snapped open, and he slowly, shakily, brought his hands in front of his face….

Eos was already too deep in dreams to hear the feral roar of fear that ripped through the halls. A handful of guards and healers were called, the small group rushing by the room in which Eos still slept. Shortly thereafter arose a commotion that awoke all in the room, save for Eos herself, but even the heavy-sleep of the Gore Magala drakaina was pierced by the rising volume of the adjacent ruckus. As Eos arose from her slumber, comprehension for her surroundings slow in coming, those of the ailed that could walk were already gathered at the door, gazing across the hallway to a number of Cheetahs, Moles, and Dragons standing at the door of Shukumei's room. Slowly dragging herself upright, the Gore Magala padded out of her room to check out the scene.

Peering in amid all the commotion, she extended her sensors to pick up traces of the industrious figure within the next room. The roar that had pierced her slumber earlier made sense as she "saw" an entity clad in naught but a tunic. He may as well have been cloaked in an elemental aura, though for the trouble he was causing.

From behind the afflicted and those immediately outside the hunter's door, Eos could "see" Shukumei was muttering and growling to himself, glowering at his hands and then at the surrounding attendants. Snorting furiously, the figure loosed another primal roar that seemed to splinter the very foundations of the pyramid. The collection of doctors, nurses, and servants chattered among themselves while the one closest to Eos backed straight into her inquisitive snout.

The Mole, stout in composure and already on edge, loosed a petrified squeak and swooned as she came face to face with Eos. The Gore Magala was quick to reassure her by stooping her head low and offering a place for the Mole to rest. In turn, the dazed Doctor did just that and quickly balanced herself, before leaning close to the chitinous dragonelle. "It's...it's unnatural..that thing."

Eos could only nod in support, unsure of whether the Mole referred to her or the feral being within the other room. That new sensation, fear, began to bubble and roil in the Gore Magala's chest once more as she gazed at the lithe figure. She hated not knowing what to do, and wished there was some manner in which she could induce calmness.

Such thoughts were interrupted as Eos "saw" two particularly-large Cheetahs step forward with cautious steps. She recoiled when Shukumei charged forward at the guards, roaring incoherently with arms held out and claws bared as if to swipe at them. The two felines easily ducked under Shukumei's inaccurate flailing, but the hunter's training kicked in and he grabbed both guards, one in each claw and _threw them across the hallway._

The crowd around the door jumped out of the way as the now-unconscious Cheetahs slid several feet into the room, coming to a stop in a heap. The Mole that had leaned against Eos for protection immediately scampered over to the two to check for urgent injury. Turning her attention back to the commotion, Eos noticed two young dragons, both rather strong drakes of sturdy build, standing just inside the doorway. The two seemed to be channeling a green energy of some sort to their bodies. Shukumei responded with another derisive snort, chuffing great breaths in challenge to their strength.

Eos craned her neck in both interest and surprise as the two drakes suddenly opened their mouths and vibrant energy _blasted_ from their maws and slammed into Shukumei just as he began to charge at them too. The force of it knocked Shukumei clean off his feet and rolling across his room until he thudded into the wall where his armor hung and item pouch lay. The strength of his crash caused his armor's helm to rattle off and fall directly onto Shukumei's head with a resounding CRACK.

The crowd relaxed as it appeared the rage of the creature had disappeared into an unconscious-

Every single person suddenly cried out in surprised pain as an orb was suddenly tossed from where Shukumei lay and the item burst with a whoosh like the wind. Without ocular senses, Eos couldn't see exactly what it was, but as everyone around her stumbled about in a blind confusion, she realized Shukumei had thrown a flash bomb from the pouch that was mere inches from where he had landed.

But she had no time to ponder on it as she suddenly saw the hunter leap to his feet and grab his dual blades from the mantle, rushing towards the two drakes.

Eos didn't take a single moment to even think. She rushed forward, a desperate fear driving her past those in her way, knocking several over in her path. Time seemed to slow and she suddenly could sense everything around her. She felt every single creatures' heartbeats, could feel every wisp of breath, aware of every heartbeat. But Eos' world focused into a single pair of creatures in existence in that moment, and she suddenly forgot about everyone else except for herself and Shukumei.

When she landed directly in Shukumei's path, Eos knew then what to do.

Tensing her muscles upon landing, she swung her momentum into another leap, flaring out her wings and spreading her claws. She aimed her limbs right at the crazed hunter as she flew across the remaining distance at him. For the barest, smallest fraction of a moment, Eos saw the fury of Shukumei's rage die completely to be replaced by a horrified dread of Eos' sudden appearance.

The reptilian hunter tried at the last second to change direction, but to no avail. Eos' whole mass slammed into him, and her inertia brought both of them crashing into the very same portion of wall that Shukumei had just arisen from moments ago. Shukumei roared in pain this time as his head cracked against the wall, but Eos hardly noticed as her own hurts flared hot with renewed pain. She immediately released the hunter as she bounced away, stumbling on agonized limbs with exaggerated limps. The sound of clattering bone came to her ear-nubs as she turned her attention to Shukumei, sighing in relief as she "saw" the hunter slump to the ground, truly unconscious this time.

Behind her, the various denizens picked themselves off the floor from her sudden dash through the crowd. Immediately she padded over to the nearest ones, the two drakes that she had saved from Shukumei's panic-fueled rage, and helped them to their feet in their dazed stupor.

"Th-thank you," the smaller of the two said, obviously shaken. The larger one didn't say anything initially, but turned his gaze to the prone form of Shukumei behind Eos, his expression carrying clear suspicion that the hunter was merely faking yet again.

"I was just trying to protect all three of you as well as everyone else," Eos said.

"Three? It's just me and Lok that were in danger from that beast," the larger dragon said.

Eos winced at their comment, but continued, "Bestial he may have been, Shuki still needs protection."

"From who?" the smaller dragon said. "He threw two of the Guard's biggest officers into the wall like they were mere pebbles! And last I checked, _he_ was the one charging at us right after a dual Earth Shot to the face, which need I remind you is powerful enough to knock out a fully-grown-"

"Himself," Eos interrupted, drawing curious stares from the two young drakes as well as a few nearby folks that were following the conversation. She didn't immediately respond to the unasked question, but simply padded over to the unconscious form of Shukumei. She laid down next to him and tenderly pulled him into the crook of her forelegs, making him as comfortable as possible in his knocked out state.

"Shuki and I aren't that much different, you know," Eos explained. "We both woke up in this new world without any memory of having traveled here. I awakened with an awareness and sense-of-self I had never before possessed, and Shuki was suddenly surrounded by beings and settings he had never before remembered. Add on to that this physical change to his appearance, and you can imagine the fear he no doubt has.

"Yes, he did attack people when he saw how he had changed, just now," Eos said, "but how would you react if you suddenly found yourself changed into something completely different from what you are?"

Lok and the older drake looked to each other with an expression Eos couldn't discern at this distance.

"That's why I need to protect Shuki, and be there for him, so he isn't alone in this," Eos said, "he needs someone to help him."

As Lok and his brother (she was pretty sure they were brothers) didn't say anything after that, but simply looked down in thought as they walked after the dispersing crowd. Eos sighed in relief as the room finally emptied and she was alone with Shukumei, so she lowered her head to lie next to the hunter's calm form.

She chuckled a little, thinking back on her small speech. She hadn't stated the whole truth of Shukumei needing her protection. In truth, Eos needed Shukumei just as much as she said he needed her. The desire in her from before to protect this hunter had only grown when she actually saw him and rushed to stop his rage. Eos nuzzled Shukumei lightly with a light chuff of satisfaction, and then laid her head next to him on her paws, feeling her fatigue begin to once again pull her into the realms of dreams.

While the Gore Magala didn't know what the future held for them, she took comfort in knowing that, with Shukumei, she would be able to face it.

With a final chuff, Eos fell asleep to dreams of flying…

 **Ehanu: And here we are with another chapter in the tale of the Forgotten Wanderers, with the introduction of Eos and Shukumei, as well as their relationship. I may be shipping them, it may be a platonic one like a mother to her hatchling, there's no telling at this point. There are quite a few things I want to do with this, but no telling what Callum and I will decide on.**

 **Callum: Following along with what Ehanu said, the fate of Eos and Shukumei is entirely open ended. Though they are certainly bound by intriguing connections. Neither possesses a normal inner nature and their first meeting, one of pain and frenetic pacing, is certain to have a strong impact on the way in which things will pan out.**


End file.
